UNDER THE PATRONAGE of

HBMeU’s research agenda is ambitious. It is a well-thought-out response to the research needs of the Arab world. A milestone in the area of scientific research endeavors of HBMeU has been the launch of five scholarly journals on March 27, 2007 as follows: International Journal of Excellence in Education; International Journal of Excellence in Tourism Hospitality and Catering; International Journal of Excellence in e-Solutions for Management; International Journal of Excellence in Healthcare Management, and International Journal of Excellence in Public Sector Management.The International Journal of Excellence in e-Learning was launched later on January 17, 2008. The journals are edited by the faculty of HBMeU. Eminent scholars placed in overseas serve as editors-in-chief. Other research initiatives include soliciting research grants, applying for research awards, establishing Research Chairs such as the Juran Chair in TQM, and launching regional research awards including (a) Feigenbaum Excellence Award, and Harrington Best Thesis Award,(b) Harrington Best TQM Thesis/Project Award,(c)Parasuraman Service Excellence Prize,(d) Kondo Research Prize: People and Organizational Culture Perspective, (e)Masie e-Learning Research Grant, and (f) HBMeU e-Learning Excellence Awards.These initiatives are meant to support outstanding research, scholarship and leadership in the Quality arena.

HBMeU organizes an annual scientific Congress, under which three conferences take place: Quality Congress; Conference on e-Learning Excellence in the Middle East and the Annual Scientific e-Health and Environment Conference. These conferences attract scholars, practitioners and policymakers from various parts of the world. These conferences are an outstanding manifestation of HBMeU’s commitment to create and disseminate useful knowledge throughout the world.

HBMeU has designed a state -of - art e-learning environment to support its learners, faculty and other members of the community, thus allowing the delivery of its offerings using innovative methods. New technologies such as mobile learning, second life, social networking, educational gaming, etc. are all made possible. Furthermore, the university invests aggressively in developing the pedagogical and technical skills of its faculty, learners and other staff members. Furthermore, the university has invested in developing an innovative leanrner support infrastructure which will provide learners with a ‘learnercentric’ university experience similar to traditional f2f education. The Deanship of Academic and Learner Affairs, through the use of technology and ICT tools, offers learners a very rich experience with full support from pre-admission counseling to alumni services. Among few of the services offered are online admissions and registration services, online access to e-library, e- Career Advising & Placement Services (e-CAPS), virtual e-communities and learners clubs, and the Learners’ Relationship Office.

Apart from its research initiatives in relation to e-learning earlier describe, HBMeU was engaged in 2008-9 in a large research project that led to the development of The Middle East e-Learning Quality Framework (MeLQ). The framework has been developed jointly with the Swiss Center for Innovation and Learning at St. Gallen University, with a purpose of certifying e-learning implementation for both higher education and corporate training.

Firmly believing in the importance of networking, exchanging best practices, and conducting collaborative work in the field of online learning, HBMeU took the initiative to launch a regional association: The Middle East e-Learning Association (MEEA) as a reinforcement of the principles of the Dubai e-Learning Declaration signed in January 2008. It has been founded to enhance understanding, practice and knowledge transfer of e-learning in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with a purpose of supporting excellence in the design, development, implementation and evaluation of e-learning.

MEEA was launched very recently with the support of some of the most renowned regional and international organizations such as UNESCO, International e-Learning Association (IELA), International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), European Distance Education Network (EDEN), Commonwealth of Learning (COL), European Learning Industry Group (ELIG), United States Distance Learning Association, Open and Distance learning Association of Australia, and many others.

Similar to MEEA, the Middle East Quality Association (MEQA) was launched in 2006 and is devoted entirely to the promotion and dissemination of cutting-edge ideas, theories, and practices in the field of quality. The main purpose of MEQA is to pave way for economic growth and development in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and facilitate free flow of information and exchange of best practices in the field of quality. MEQA comprises today more than 39 organizations from countries including Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, etc.

A third association- The e-Health Scientific Society (eHSS) was launched recently in April 2010, which aims at promoting the e-health concept in a comprehensive and integrated manner to serve e-health education, e-health community information exchange and e-health services through policy and strategy development, education, research collaboration and exchange of know-how and best practices.

In its quest for fulfilling its mission and key objectives, the HBMeU ( earlier the e-TQM College), has always believed in the concept of mutually-beneficial partnerships and collaboration. The university is today aligned with many well-known institutions including: University of California, Berkeley; Emory University; Bradford University, St. Gallen University; U21Global; University of South Africa (UNISA); Australian Human Resource Institute; International Hospital Federation. etc.

HBMeU has also gained international recognition and is an active member of many reputed international organizations and institutions including (but not limited to) the International Council for Open and Distance Education, European Learning Industry Group, British Quality Foundation, European Foundation for Quality Management, International Federation of Information Processing, etc.

Moreover, HBMeU is associated with eminent international advisory boards to support both the institution at a higher level (Presidents and Chancellors of other universities) and at the individual school level. The university also has a very large network of subject matter experts and faculty from over 45 countries.

HBMeU is conceived in the image of an institution that builds its functions on responsiveness to the hopes and aspirations of communities in the Arab world. It is conceived as a dynamic system that has sufficient cushion to absorb the shock of novelty without ever losing sight of excellence. It is conceived as a system that believes in inculcating professionalism and setting exceptionally high standards of quality. Furthermore, in order to sustain the operational excellence of the organization, HBMeU has implemented internationally-recognized standards of quality such as ISO9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004,OSHAS 18001:2001and ISO27001:2005.

To find out more, please visit the website www.hbmeu.ac.ae